IS NEUROPHILOSOPHY REDUCTIONIST OR ELIMINATIVIST?

Abstract

Neurophilosophy is sometimes regarded as reductionist, other times eliminativist. It is routinely said to be both reductionist and eliminativist. The underlying assumption is possibly this: If a theory or a category is being reduced, then that theory is denied to be accurate, or that category is denied to exist. The theory or the category, thus, is eliminated from our scientific repertory. However, that something is being reduced does not imply that that thing is being eliminated at all. On the contrary, its reduction acknowledges its existence. Therefore, in this work, I argue that calling neurophilosophy both reductionist and eliminativist is fundamentally misleading. To eliminate this mistaken view, I offer that we should call neurophilosophy revisionary and unificatory materialism instead of reductionist and eliminative materialism.

Keywords

• neurophilosophy
• eliminativism
• reductionism
• Churchland
• folk psychology

NÖROFELSEFE İNDİRGEMECİ Mİ YOKSA ELEYİCİ MİDİR?

Öz

Nörofelsefe denilen akım felsefeciler tarafından bazen indirgemeci, bazen eleyici ama çoğunlukla hem indirgemeci hem eleyici olarak nitelenir. Bunun kuvvetle muhtemel gerekçesi eleştirmenlerin itirazlarının altında yatan şu varsayımdır: Bir kuram veya ona içkin varlık kategorisi indirgeniyorsa, artık o varlık yok sayılmaktadır ve bilimsel terminolojimizden elenmektedir. Halbuki bir şeyin indirgenmesi hiçbir şekilde onun varlığının inkarı değil aksine ilanıdır. İşte bu nedenle, bu çalışmada ben, nörofelsefenin indirgemeci ve eleyici materyalizm olarak adlandırılmasının son derece yanıltıcı sonuçlar yarattığını ve bu olumsuz sonuçlardan kurtulmanın yolunun, birkaç defa kendilerinin önerdiği gibi, Churchland tipi nörofelsefeyi nitelemek için birleştirici ve yenileyici materyalizm ifadesinin kullanılması gerektiğini savunacağım.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• nörofelsefe
• eleyicilik
• indirgemecilik
• Churchland
• halk psikolojisi

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